Five Subwoofer Masters Explain How They Work Their Magic
Subwoofer design has undergone a revolution. No, the physics of woofers, amplifiers, and enclosures haven’t changed. But new technologies have made it possible to push the bass-ic laws of nature to their limits, such that the best of today’s inexpensive
subwoofers can outperform many of the top models from 15 or 20 years ago.
Affordable digital audio processing lets designers tune subwoofers in ways the engineers of the 1990s could only have imagined. High-efficiency amplifiers pound out powerful bass from boxes hardly bigger than a basketball. New speaker drivers use high-tech materials to produce sound levels that would have pushed older models way past the breaking point.
Since things are so different now, we thought this would be a great time to revisit some of the fundamentals of subwoofer design and examine how the old rules might have changed in the digital age.
For years, we've read in audio magazines about the quest for the finest this, the biggest that, and the most expensive such-and-such. If it were 2005, I'd probably be addressing that subject right now. But in 2009, it seems rather ludicrous to be writing about extravagant audio baubles while one sits at an Ikea table in a $10 Old Navy polo shirt drinking coffee from Smart and Final.
This week may be the most eventful in history for surround-sound geeks. Yesterday, one of the biggest names in surround sound — DTS — announced it had acquired another of the biggest names in surround sound, SRS.
The cylindrical design of SVS’s PC12-NSD may appear eccentric, but it’s purely functional. The tube-shaped material makes it easy for SVS to create a good, stiff enclosure at low cost. It also minimizes the amount of floor space the sub occupies. While the 3-foot-high PC12-NSD is undeniably tall, its 16.6-inch-diameter form uses only a small amount of floor space.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT, thousands are taking part in an almost-forgotten rite. It melds advanced technology, knowledge handed down through the decades, and a little dose of black magic. As most rituals do, it appalls many nonbelievers, but that fact only makes its practitioners relish it more.
The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It’s still working fine, but I know I’ll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.
The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.
The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.
When 7.1-channel surround sound came out a few years ago, no one knew if people would buy it. And no one knew if Hollywood would produce 7.1-channel soundtracks. But there's one thing everyone knew: Someday, somebody would come up with even more channels.